First Impressions: Legends of Tomorrow

David and I got to watch the much anticipated Legends of Tomorrow. Now the series is actually beginning with a two part premiere over two different weeks. This makes sense when you realize what these first episodes need to do. Not only are you trying to get people who watch both Flash and Arrow, but there might be some who watch one or the other and then there are those rare few who may not watch either. So how do you introduce this large group of characters to such a wide audience. Some have seen them before while others need to get to know them. Then there is Rip Hunter who would be new to anyone. Now I come from the perspective that I have seen both Flash and Arrow so I am very familiar with all the characters that they presented, but I was not aware how they would bring them together, which is about all they have shown so far.

Two Part Opener

As I mentioned earlier they are doing a two part opener for the show, just not doing it in one night. So for the first part it is about introductions. Introducing the characters, showing how they become a team, and helping us understand time travel. When you have 9 characters that you have to introduce it makes sense that it would take some time. Now they do more than just introduce the heroes they also introduce the villain. They do a really good job of making it a natural progression, but it will be interesting to see how they continue the story when they really get into the meat of the story.

Introductions

The initial introductions of the various characters happens pretty quickly as Rip Hunter basically finds each of them in their natural setting and transports them all to a place of his choosing. The opening speech is a doozy, it shows Rip Hunter as a Time Master who is hunting down Vandal Savage and gathering a group of heroes to help hunt him down. This speech is the whole point of the show. He is gathering these heroes who will one day become legends in order to help him hunt down a man who plans to destroy any thought of a future. Showing each of the heroes go through their own individual dilemma about whether to trust Hunter is interesting. How each of them decides whether they will come on this journey reveals a lot about their individual characters.

Time Travel

Now the other big piece of the story that needed to be revealed is how they were planning to handle time travel. How they deal with time travel really is an integral part of the story because if the whole point is that they are trying to change the future then that must mean that the future can be changed. With just one episode we have only seen a brief jaunt to the past, but so far it makes sense. The one thing that I have appreciated is that they discuss the effects of time travel and the fact that some people and events have a larger effect on the timeline than others. This is important because you need to be careful to not disrupt the timeline too much. Of course I have a feeling with this group it won’t be that easy.

Conclusion

So far at least I am excited to see more. It will be really interesting to see the next episode when they actually get to the heart of the story and facing Savage in the past. The other interesting piece is that the first episode quickly reveals that not all is what it seems. I don’t want to give too much away, but there were definitely some unexpected moments.

In terms of a “mood,” Arrow and Flash are definitely very different shows! From just one episode, I feel like Legends of Tomorrow is going to be more like Flash in that regard, less gritty and moody, and more light-hearted. With time travel and lots of super-people in the mix! Should make for a fun ride 🙂

That sounds more like what I’m looking for. I think that’s what I love about Flash is that it has more fun. With Arrow, I sometimes get the sense that it takes itself too seriously. I’ll leave the more gritty superhero shows to Netflix’s Marvel. They have the capabilities of doing it just the way I want. To be painfully honest though, I think it’s just the supporting characters on Arrow that make me cringe, not so much the mood it establishes. I like the supporters on Flash quite a bit.

I feel like that all remains to be seen on Legends of Tomorrow, then… who is going to be main, and who supporting? Juggling them all as “leads” could get difficult, so I imagine that at various times different characters will be focused on in different ways or episodes.